Suggestion: Compiling Information Using the Ratings System

[Stratomsk]

Threads can be long. Other threads can be incredibly long. Notable examples are Holden's thread, Vade's thread, the Sluthate.com thread, and the Social Justice Warrior threads. Others are getting there such as Nick Bate's thread and the Connor Bible thread.

The problem with such long threads is that information can get easily lost in a maze of shitposting, thoughts and comments, etc. As far as documenting information goes, there needs to be a more efficient way to organize it and at the same time easier to read for people who aren't kept 'in the loop' so to speak. People in general simply don't have the time to be going through an incredibly long thread.

My idea is this: Make a function capable of distinguishing between posts that fulfill a certain rating requirement entered by the user any ratings that they choose to select for a particular thread. It would in essence hide any posts that don't fulfill a specific number of ratings and show only those that do. The way this would operate is that it would be a selected option that can be toggled on or off. The posts would still be there of course, they just wouldn't be visible to that particular user.

The only real issue I have with this is from a UI standpoint. Where should this be selected option be located? In the 'Advanced Search' section? How would it be designed? I'm not quite sure.

Discuss.

EDIT: I've been thinking about this idea and its clear my initial thoughts were wrong. Having a system that filters posts doesn't really work for a great number of reasons, the worst being obscuring posts and generally only showing reaction images and shitposts.

An idea @Philosophy Zombie came up with is pretty reasonable. A system similar to this one, except instead of obscuring posts it simply shows up in a search format that means there would be a list of abbreviated ratings; You would have to click on them to go to the location on the page the post is on and the other posts would still be visible. His idea would be far easier to code comparatively and I don't see any repercussions with it as well.

Discuss.

 

[exball]

Doesn't work because shitposts get lots of positive ratings.

 

[Stratomsk]

Doesn't work because shitposts get lots of positive ratings.

It wouldn't be a perfect system but it would at the very least be able to cut down on the number of posts for better readability. People don't just give loads of 'Informative' ratings to posts that don't deserve it for example. It would also help make the 'Advanced Search' section easier to use when looking for less specific clauses and phrases as well as words.

 

[EI 903]

I would love to see posts that get over 5 or 10 Informative ratings get highlighted to make skimming easier.

 

[Clown Doll]

Doesn't work because shitposts get lots of positive ratings.

I think that the highlighting could be done manually by janitors or other staff, or possibly hand-picked members who frequent said threads(the same way thread highlighting is done).

 

[CatParty]

Top positive rated posts bumped to the top.
Also top rated posters get priority and their posts are bumped to the top always.
Also we should be able to rate our own posts

 

[KingofManga420]

Doesn't work because shitposts get lots of positive ratings.

@CatParty

 

[Stratomsk]

Top positive rated posts bumped to the top.
Also top rated posters get priority and their posts are bumped to the top always.
Also we should be able to rate our own posts

Being able to organize posts from most to least number of a certain rating is a good idea as well. This would be a helpful option in addition to simply showing the posts in order.

 

[Dr. Meme]

Only if we also get the option to filter out everything but the shitposts

 

[Glaive]

Sounds like Reddit, disgusting.

You'd be scrolling through one-liners and reaction images forever if threads were organized by rating.
Furthermore doing that would put an even HEAVIER emphasis on people trying to rate-whore by making shitposts like that knowing it gives their post higher visibility and therefore even more rates.

It would in essence hide any posts that don't fulfill a specific number of ratings and show only those that do.

And you want to include an ability to censor low rating posts? I smell more Reddit.

I guess the big difference is being able to toggle it. If it's only a toggled option as opposed to a full replacement it wouldn't interfere much.
Sort of like...

I would love to see posts that get over 5 or 10 Informative ratings get highlighted to make skimming easier.

Also a nice idea because it's only applied to 'informative' rates and doesn't impact the post order.

 

[Sanic]

I honestly think all ratings should be neutral. No positive or negative scale. It can help scale a person if you don't know them, but it can lead to misunderstandings, I find.

 

[Dr. Meme]

I honestly think all ratings should be neutral. No positive or negative scale. It can help scale a person if you don't know them, but it can lead to misunderstandings, I find.

@CatParty

 

[Stratomsk]

I guess the big difference is being able to toggle it. If it's only a toggled option as opposed to a full replacement it wouldn't interfere much.
Sort of like...

Yeah. It would be a toggled option and wouldn't censor posts. Thats the last thing I want this to do. The point here is to make it possible to skim threads far more efficiently and not waste time. The best use I can imagine for this is a situation where user A has to get through an incredibly long thread and is able to filter out any post that doesn't have a certain number of "Informative" ratings in order to get caught up in the thread.

Other situations useful to this effect would be the purpose of making it easier to archive information when perusing a thread.

What are your personal thoughts on this @Null?

 

[Philosophy Zombie]

With the new "achievement" rating, highlighting posts that have earned one could be a very good idea.

 

[Stratomsk]

With the new "achievement" rating, highlighting posts that have earned one could be a very good idea.

@Clown Doll recommended a similar thing, where the administrators or staff would hand pick posts that are very informative.

The problem is that @KatsuKitty and @Glaive are only two people. I don't believe leaving this up to them would solve the problem and more to the point create a situation where a lot of useful information to the casual user gets buried by page after page of shitposts and normal discussion.

@exball made a good point that shitposts tend to be given positive ratings quite a lot. What I would ask is this: Is that necessarily a bad thing? Under this system you would be able to select or toggle any number of ratings you are looking for in a thread and the amount of ratings themselves. Maybe you are looking for some Feels posts for whatever reason. Maybe you want to see some Winner posts to see some witty comments as well as funny shitposts. Maybe you want to find some Informative posts to get caught up in a long thread.

The only real argument against this is that posts can be filtered to the casual user by ratings which on the surface appears to be censorship of posts with lesser ratings. The problem with this notion is that it assumes that people would keep continuously using this feature instead of reading the thread normally. That is simply not true. A lot of the discussion and banter in a thread brings much needed context to understand it. For example, a reaction image or shitpost doesn't really tell you what the current conversation is about and would likely confuse somebody going through the thread for the first time. No, what somebody new to a thread would do is look for the informative posts to get up to date on the latest happenings of their favorite lolcow. That information doesn't really require context beyond the knowledge a very well detailed opening post can help with.

I don't see why once that person is finally caught up in a thread they would keep using this system. If everyone abused it they would actually be unable to see the latest posts and it would lead to a situation where the most recent posts are being ignored by users waiting for more of whatever types of posts they're looking for. Due to that lack of content, they would be encouraged to toggle the system off so that they would be able to see the latest posts and rate them normally.

Feel free to disagree with my points, but at least explain why. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

 

[John Furrman]

A collapsible index at the top of the page with a list of links to all posts flagged as "good posts" in a thread would be a good solution and wouldn't force anything on anyone. Minimal effort and it works.

 

[Stratomsk]

A collapsible index at the top of the page with a list of links to all posts flagged as "good posts" in a thread would be a good solution and wouldn't force anything on anyone. Minimal effort and it works.

How exactly would this work? Who would flag the posts? I can see the appeal of having the community do it but I'm not sure how this would work in practice.

 

[CatParty]

Just leave it all be. The system is fine. Yall are just jelly of my 55k positives

 

[EI 903]

The problem is that @KatsuKitty and @Glaive are only two people.

That could be easily fixed by giving all staff and supervisors the ability to highlight posts.

 

[Stratomsk]

That could be easily fixed by giving all staff and supervisors the ability to highlight posts.

This pretty much depends on the assumption that the staff and supervisors will be able to keep up with all the threads and not accidentally let information slip through the cracks. Not saying it would be impossible, it just would be a constant process that requires doing on a regular basis.

Just leave it all be. The system is fine. Yall are just jelly of my 55k positives

It really isn't fine. Its workable at best. This only really applies to the long threads but I personally don't have the time to go through it in order to find sparse updates on somebody and I think it would be fair to say I'm not the only one with has had this issue.